Video: Anderson Silva Continues to Make Progress, Walks Down Flight of Stairs

Former UFC middleweight champion Anderson Silva may not be sparring in the gym with LyotoMachida quite yet, but he definitely seems to be headed in the right direction. "The Spider" took to Instagram and posted a video of himself walking down a flight of stairs, sans cast and sans crutches.

Silva famously snapped his leg just above the ankle back at UFC 168 in December. The horrifying injury saw the legendary fighter on his back, holding his leg as his foot moved freely in unnatural ways while screaming in pain. The gruesome sight had many, including this writer, hoping for his retirement from the sport.

By all accounts (including manager Jorge Guimaraes, handler Ed Soares and UFC President Dana White), however, Silva wants to fight at least one more time in the UFC. While it's definitely good to see Silva back on his feet without crutches, fans should not get too excited over a Silva return quite yet.

Silva remains at the very least two months away from being healed from the injury and initial surgery. After that, he will potentially need to go back under the knife for follow-up surgeries (Bloody Elbow did a great breakdown which you can read here).

Even the most optimistic projections have Silva returning to the gym in the summer. Given the scope and size of a fight involving the Brazilian, it's unlikely we will see him return in 2014 as Dana White hinted.

Regardless, the fact that Silva is back walking is nothing other than a positive sign.